Where to find great locations for photography when visiting Britain: Part II

Part of Colchester's Roman Walls on Balkerne Hill

Continuing from where I left off in my previous post I am introduce you to more great locations for photography when visiting Britain. Although I am originally from the North-West of England I have been living in Colchester for the past 20 years with my family.

Colchester is a very historic town, being the oldest recorded town in Britain. Pliny the Elder in AD77 mentions Camulodunum, the Celtic name for  Colchester. Camulodunum before the Romans was inhabited by the Trinovantes, a Celtic tribe. They occupied most of what is now known as Essex and Suffolk. Cunobelin, their leader was known by the Romans as King of the Britons.

The Romans invaded in 43 AD, under the direction of Emperor Claudius and Camulodunum became the capital of Roman Britain.

In 61AD Boudica, member of the Celtic Iceni tribe from Norfolk, later led an army to lay waste to Roman Colchester, burning it to the ground. Queen Boudica or Boadicea as she is more commonly called, ruled with her husband King Prasutagus. By all accounts she was an attractive woman with very long red hair and it is said she terrified many with her harsh voice and gaze! After the death of King Prasutagus, the Roman Governor of Britain, Suetonius Paulinus stole his lands and had Boudica publicly flogged and her daughters raped by Roman slaves!.

This behaviour was replicated across the territory of the Iceni and led to the Iceni, the Trinobantes and other tribes to rebel against the Romans. Not only did they lay waste to Camulodunum, but also attacked and burnt to the ground Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St. Albans).

However, the Romans regrouped their forces (having abandoned Londinium and Verulamium and left them defenceless) and eventually in a battle somewhere in the Midlands of England, defeated Boudica and her army, slaughtering, it is said, 80,000 men, women and children, with some 400 Roman casualties. Whether this is strictly true (the victors dictate history they say) or not, Boudica entered the history books as a great leader, the Great Warrior Queen who resisted the Romans. Today there is a statue in her memory near to the Houses of Parliament. It shows her on her chariot looking as fierce as ever as she rides into battle!

So what can you see if you visit Colchester? Well, there is the Roman Wall, the oldest surviving town wall in Britain, built to defend the town from further attacks after Boudica had been defeated. There is even an original gate surviving, the Balkerne Gate which served as the main entrance to the newly fortified town. Even today the wall and the gate are an impressive sight.

Holy Trinity Church

The was a temple within the town's walls, dedicated to the Emperor Claudius who conquered Brittania (as Britain was known at the time). It was burnt to the ground when Boudica sacked the town. However, you can see the remains of it beneath the town's castle (strictly speaking it is a Norman Keep - largest surviving one in Europe). Colchester Castle is a museum too, with artefacts on display covering more than 2,500 years of local history. The Castle and Museum is certainly worth a visit as is the surrounding park.

As well as the Roman Wall and the Castle, there are several other notable buildings in and around Colchester. Recently a Roman Circus (for chariot racing) was uncovered on the Army Garrison. On the edge of town, towards Colchester's world famous zoo, you can see the outlines of where a Roman Temple and a Roman Amphitheatre once stood. Unfortunately, after the Romans left Brittania for good, the buildings fell into ruin and the stones were taken by locals over the centuries as building materials.

Colchester Zoo

You can also visit the ruins of and grounds of St Botolph's Priory, England's first Augustinian Priory on the edge of the town centre (within easy walking distance of Colchester Castle). Nearby is the historic gateway of St John's Abbey precinct (demolished during the 16th century Reformation).

The town has a rich history as it an important centre of trade through the centuries after the Roman era. You can see Tudor and Georgian buildings in their finery, along with the Dutch Quarter, where Dutch weavers settled after fleeing religious persecution in Flanders during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In the very heart of the town is Holy Trinity Church, Colchester's only surviving Saxon building and until very recently it was used by a social enterprise which ran a cafe and an indoor market, giving employment to vulnerable individuals who had struggled to find work elsewhere or had recently left prison. Part of the church reused some of those Roman bricks mentioned earlier!

I have only scratched the surface and there is plenty more you can see and visit, both within the town and in the near countryside. Certainly you won't be short of things to photograph!

In my next post in this series I will highlight places to visit within a short distance of the town. In the meantime, check out these links for more detailed information.

• Visit Colchester - official site for visitors.
• Colchester Zoo - voted No. 11 in the world with 260 species in 60 acres of parkland.
• St Botolph's Priory - founded @ 1100AD and damaged in English Civil War.
• St John's Abbey Gate - built around 1400AD to protect the wealthy Benedictine Abbey (no longer exists) following the Peasants' Revolt. It was also damaged in the battle between the Royalist and Parliamentarian armies. Colchester was a Royalist town and when it fell in 1648 the Royalist captains Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle were shot on the orders of Sir Thomas Fairfax, the Parliamentary general. There is a memorial in the Castle grounds.

I hope you found this post useful and that you come back soon for the next installment.








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